


Break In

by Prettyburgerprincess



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: AU, Caroline is a human AU, Comfort, Damsel in Distress, Elijah is very ready to deal with wayward Caroline behaviour like the full tilt dad he is, F/M, Family, Friendship, Klaus is just doin his best okay, hero klaus, mild eating disorder, we love Elijah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 16:28:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14937842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prettyburgerprincess/pseuds/Prettyburgerprincess
Summary: She's pretty sure there's no fairy tales where the damsel in distress actively calls the Big Bad Wolf.Caroline's apartment gets broken into and she needs some time to recover her sense of strength and self. But she needs to feel strong to do that, and who better versed in strength than two thousand year old vampires?





	Break In

**Author's Note:**

> FIRST FIC DONE YEAH

Upon reflection, the candlelight, empty house and darkness, plus Stephen King? Not the best thing to do on her first day off in three weeks, two days.

But who was counting?

The Lush bath bomb was making her legs feel like silk, and when she rubbed her belly, that felt silky smooth too. She continued listnening to her e-book and just rubbed her limbs, eyes shut against the world, drifting in the tub.

Caroline's toes were still drying the glossy wine red, peeking above the water at the end of the bath, so she couldn't get out into her fluffy slippers for at least another ten minutes.

"Relax," she told herself firmly. "You're fine. This is fine. You need to take a break. Just relax."

But she was so used to being wound up and ready to work that it was hard to just... _exist._

She sought out the bottle of pore extracting skin peel and squeezed a dollop out to lather over her face, minding her eyes. Once that was done, she shaved her legs and exfoliated them with a glove, then slowly smoothed them over each other to feel how soft they were.

The skin peel was satisfactory. She pulled out little grains that had been stuck in her poor face for who knows how long, especially bad in the bridge of her nose and dent in her chin.

The Stephen King novel was amping up in creep factor, and honestly, the flicker of the candles were getting more and more spooky. So she drained the bath and (after checking her toes were dry) got on her slippers, pulling on her silky robe and adjusting her wayward strands into the head wrap. She turned off the tablet as she blew out the candles and padded quietly into her bedroom to dump the clothes she'd been hanging around in all day into the hamper.

Which is when she heard the first thump.

"Paranoid," she told herself. "You're getting soft, Forbes. This is what happens when you grow up around a bunch of vampires and don't make friends in New Orleans and decide to leave all the lights off and listen to-" THUMP THUMP THUMP. CLATTER. CLANG CLANG.

Caroline wasn't even sure how she had leapt across the room and got her phone out as fast as she had, but the number for Klaus was dialing and her back was to the wall before she knew it.

"Hello love," he answered, cool as you please. "Long time no -"

"There's someone in my apartment," she whispered quickly. "Confession time; I'm in New Orleans and I'm alone and there's _someone in my apartment_."

Sure enough, there were more thumps, footsteps, and then the sound of a crash. It sounded suspiciously like a TV.

"I don't know what to do," she said quickly. "My taser is in my purse in the lounge room, and I think they're in there, and I'm freaking out, please tell me you're still living in this area and you're not busy right now-"

"Is there a door with a lock you can get to in your apartment?" he said, his volume lowered.

"Bathroom." she said, pacing across her room, cupping her hand over the receiver, as something really heavy hit the floor in her living room. "But it's the closest room to where they are and-"

There was a devastating crash from the living area. Multiple male voices laughing.

Caroline edged into the corner of her room, eyes wide. More than one of them? Of course. Of course there were.

"Caroline," he soothed. "I need your address, love."

Quickly, she recited it to him.

"Stay on the phone," she urged him. "Please stay on the phone."

"I will," he said. "Don't worry. I'm on the way."

She thought about the book that had just been read to her - when the guy got kidnapped because he had thought there were only two bad guys instead of three.  Setting her shoulders, Caroline tiptoed to the door, and peered out of it. She nearly jerked back, but made her body hold. There were two men in the kitchen, rooting through her cupboards. Another one was eating the pasta she had made earlier to have for dinner. One other one crossed the kitchen and disappeared into the lounge, which she couldn't see on her angle.

"There are like four of them," she breathed, inching back from the door. "They're just... eating my food. My taser is in there. I can't get it."

"It's alright," Klaus told her calmly. "You worry about hiding for the minute."

She froze as a pair of eyes met hers from down the hallway. The man eating her pasta had the decency to look upset.

"I thought you said no one was here?" he asked roughly.

"Wasn't. No lights on, dipshit."

"Then who's that?"

Caroline made a break for the bathroom and slammed the door shut. She locked it with a shaking hand and realised maybe two seconds later that her phone was not in her hand.

Which, you know. _Not great_.

The first knock on the door was almost polite. When she didn't answer, there was a second, harder knock. At her continued silence, a THUMP bounced her off the door.

"What!" she shouted. "What do you want?!"

"This's shit. I didn't know anyone was here," muttered one. Caroline wasn't sure she was supposed to hear it.

"Well, we were hungry," came a new voice. A darker voice, one that didn't match any of the faces she had seen. "But you looked good enough to eat." There was a click of teeth.

"We'd better hurry. She was on the phone. Probably to the cops."

"C'mon, Ray, let's just grab the goods and go."

"S'New Orleans on a Sunday. They'll be a while." There was a pause. "Fine. You go, then. More for me."

Caroline looked around the bathroom, then clicked on the light. What was in here that she could even use? There was nothing in there except some lotions and potions. Even her razors were safety guarded.

A sickening crunch on the other side of the door made Caroline rear back. She sat on the floor and leaned her weight on it, kicking off her slippers to plant her feet down hard. Her breathing was coming in gasps now, her eyes blinking far more than they had to.

"I thought you were bitchin' out?" grunted the mean voice.

"Well, there's just one'a her," said another, softer voice. "Two'a us. You didn't see 'er, did ya?"

"Nah." The door shook with another brutal crunch. "Don't have to though. I can _smell_ her."

Caroline started shaking. The door was cracking, a slice of metal gleaming through the splinters.

"I wouldn't if I were you," she said loudly. "I didn't call the police."

"That supposed to stop us?" Another hard thud rocked the door. A new inch of blade shot through the wood.

"Who'd you call then?" goaded the softer voice. "Your daddy?"

"Yeah, right," Caroline shot back, tensing hard as a boot bounced off the door. They hacked at it, a whole wedge of her meat cleaver punching through. Caroline didn't mess about with her cooking - it was one of those fancy two hundred dollar knives that could cut a sheet of paper with no weight at all. And she hadn't had the chance to use it yet, so it was still showroom sharp! "You're gonna wish I had called my daddy!"

"You can call me daddy," said the rough voice again, to a low chuckle from his friend. "Say nicely to daddy Ray how you want it and maybe I'll give it to you like that."

"Get out of my apartment," she said firmly. "I'm not fucking around. You are not going to like who shows up in about two minutes."

"Two minutes?" repeated the quieter one. Caroline nearly shrieked as a hard puff of rancid air wafted through the door behind her ear, too much like he could touch her if he wanted. "You know what I can do to you in just two minutes, girly?"

Caroline felt her bottom lip trembling, a sure fire sign that she was on imminent melt down.

"I'm going to tell you one more time," she managed to say through a thick lump in her throat. "To get out of my apartment. I'm warning you-"

She was cut off as the meat cleaver shattered a long spike of wood from the door frame, falling to her knees in a twist. Two beady eyes peered at her from the crack, a bulbous nose the only part of his face that she could otherwise see.

"Ooh," said the voice belonging to Ray. "She _is_ pretty. And all wrapped up like a present for us, too."

"Hurry it up," said the quiet voice. "She sounds a little too tough for me to wanna hang around much longer."

"The phone says she called a Big Bad Wolf!" Ray snorted. "You scared of fairy tales?"

"I ain't sayin' I'm scareda nuthin'."

"But you're scared of her big bad wolf!" he jeered. The door shook with a hard shoulder against the wood, and Caroline was scared the lock would give under the stress.

"You know what I'm scared of? Fuckin' with the wrong girl and copin' the double barrel of some pissed off boyfriend," admitted the man.

Caroline’s laugh burst out of her throat without permission, slapping a hand to her mouth to try and stop it.

There was a pause. Then Ray's beady eyes disappeared and were replaced with another slice of the cleaver. It bit into the wood like butter, and despite it being actively used to try and attack her, Caroline was kind of impressed.

"Means nothin'!" spat Ray. He chopped at the door on the off times when his other friend wasn't kicking at it. Caroline just covered her head with her arms and waited. And waited. And waited.

It could've been two minutes. It could've been half an hour. It felt like an actual age, a terrible time loop of imminent demise. Caroline would never know how long she waited, but one second they were barreling against the door as wood rained around her, and then they simply weren't.

It took her a solid two seconds to realise that.

There was shouting - feral, horrible words from the two men that had tried to attack her. There was a roar, wet noises of pitter patter on her nice clean floorboards, and then silence.

Slowly, Caroline lifted her head, saw the fist sized hole hacked into her door, and clicked it open to peer outside. The rest of the wood had been chipped away in a much more damaging circle around where they had actually broken through, torn through the clean white paint to scar the wood beneath. 

The unfortunate thing was Ray's zipper was down and his ding-a-ling was out, and if she was going to pretend that he hadn't been threatening to rape her that would've changed her mind. His head, completely misplaced on the other side of the hall, was still blinking in shock.

"Hey, that's weird," she said mildly, on her hands and knees and with her head just outside of the door. "Hi, Klaus."

The golden eyes snapped down to her.

"Did they touch you?" he demanded.

"Not even a little bit," she shrugged. Caroline looked to see that Ray's friend had absolutely pissed himself. She grimaced. "Okay, like I'm not saying that I don't understand bladder leakage, because _wow_ , you are really pissed, but could they not have held it in? I'm not cleaning that up. It's my day off."

Caroline got to her feet by pulling herself up on the handle of her very busted door, folded her arms across her chest, and leaned against the frame. She sort of became aware that her silky robe was doing its level best to fall off her shoulder, and righted it with a shaky hand, casting her eyes down. The cleaver was at her feet, so she bent to pick that up and consider the edge, casting a gleam of light to skitter over the wall beside her.

"Huh," she said. "Didn't blunt it as much as I thought it would. That's what we get for buying expensive knives. Hooray."

Her hands tightened on the blade handle as she saw what had become of Ray's quieter friend - his heart laying still and wet next to his head. His eyes were glazed into a faraway stare.

Caroline cleared her throat and put her hands on her hips. The knife made a weird sound against the doorframe and she flinched again, almost immediately scolding herself for being stupid.

"I will never let harm come to you," Klaus promised her, his tone everything princely in the world. 

"I never doubted that for a second," she said with a smile. She swallowed back all the things she wanted to say, and bit her shaking lower lip. "That's why I called. Thanks for the save."

"Of course." He bowed his head to her. 

"Cool." She watched him walk toward her, his shoes squelching in the blood and gore on her floorboards, and her hands twitched to reach out to him. She clutched the knife tighter instead, putting the other around the handle.

"Are you alright?"

"Hm?" she felt dazed. When she tried to turn and see what damage he had done in the room, she found that she actually didn't want to see, and squeezed her eyes shut. "Yeah, I'm fine. How are you?"

"All the better for having seen you," he said softly. "Though I wish it had been in better circumstances."

"Oh, yeah, me too." She blinked open her eyes and made a face at the floor. "Ugh. I cleaned today. What's the actual point?!"

"I thought you said it was your day off?" he reasoned.

"Well, yeah, I needed to clean up, so…" She turned her face from Ray's decapitated head and looked at the vampire. "Hey, uh, how'd you get in here?"

"The landlord answered my knocking," he said mildly. "But you needn't worry about that right now, love, as you've gone into rather a state of shock."

"Am I?" she raised her brows at him. "Wow, I uh, don't feel shocked. Just kind of... jumpy."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Could you-?" She nearly choked on the words, but cleared her throat and sniffed. It felt too loud in the otherwise silent room. Except the beeping of her open fridge. What heathens left a fridge open? "Uhm, could you come with me to my room so I can get some real clothes on?"

He nodded.

Her toes slid a little in the blood - which, _ew_ , but whatever - and Klaus caught her.

"Easy," he said softly, and helped her cross the space, helpfully toing Ray's bulbous head out of her doorway so that she didn't have to step over it to enter her own bedroom. 

She clicked on the lights and went to the closet, getting out whatever came to hand first and registered as a item for top and bottom. She pulled on underwear under her robe, pulled on leggings and then unbelted her gown to drop it in a pile on the floor. Then she put the knife down. But it just so happened that in the small jewelry box she had on the dresser had a tiny mirrored panel, and she saw the way he stared for a second before politely turning his back.

In any other circumstance, it would've been weird. She would've mentioned to him not to look, or would've thought he wanted to look longer...

But being naked felt frightening, and she didn't realise that it would until she was there.

Pulled on her t-shirt roughly, she fished out some socks and her trusty Vans. It had been an ages since she had worn them, because her library boss hated them. But when she looked down to dress her feet, her own footprints trailed up to where she currently stood, and she was a little alarmed to see that her knees were shaking - because she sure couldn't feel them.

"Okay, I'm done," she said with a shaky smile, untucking her hair as she turned. Her hand reached out blindly behind her and she picked it up, adjusting it one handedly into a neat grip.

Klaus had both hands in his pockets, looking like he was trying to make himself look smaller.

"Anything else while I'm here?" he drawled.

"Cleaning services?" she said, with a shaky smile. "You made a mess, you should at least have someone clean it up."

He shrugged.

"I have a selection on call, actually."

"Well in that case, Mr. Has All The Answers, you wouldn't happen to know anyone looking for a housemate, would you?" she joked, completely not serious. Not even a little bit. She was fine, okay? Jeeze. It was just a funny joke, she didn't expect him to have answers. Or do his stupid Klaus thing and offer a solution to her problem in his stupid perfect Klaus way. "Because I'm pretty sure my living alone days are very done. At least for a hot minute. While, you know, my PTSD settles in and my mild control freakishness gets dialed way up to nine."

He wet his lip.

"Actually," he said quietly. "I have room."

"What?" Her eyebrows shot up.

"I have room. You may stay with me until you feel better." He shifted. He left bloody prints on the floor, and her eyes fixated on it. "For a hot minute, as you say. Would you like me to help you get the blood off your feet so we can leave?"

" _Yes please,_ " she blurted, and reached for him with the hand not carrying the knife.

* * *

 

The ceiling was high, the walls were far apart. The windows were huge, but shaded by their bars. And the fountain, okay. That was pretty interesting, score one to Klaus.

Caroline hugged herself and stepped inside, looking around. There was a doorway that opened up into a kitchen area, a neat six person table set up on the floor above it. Seemed like a lot of effort to get from food to eating it, but she wasn't a vampire, so what did she know?

"Shall I give you a tour?" he wondered.

"Uhm, is there already a room with a bed in it that I can use?" She blinked at him. "I kinda just want to sleep."

"Of course," he murmured, flicked his eyes around the house. "I just need to have a few words with certain members of this household..."

"Knowing the people that are likely to be in this household, I think that is probably for the best," she said, and set her shoulder on the wall, watching him stalk around with her Hello Kitty bag on his burly shoulder.

He marched up to the stairs and through the door on the other side, disappearing from view. He was gone for maybe thirty seconds. When he came out, he strode across the length of the balcony, and disappeared again.

"Hello, Caroline," Elijah said, buttoning his suit as he jogged down the stairs. "How good to see you. You'll be staying with us, for a time?"

"Mm-hm." She rocked on her feet. "My place got broken into. It was all very dramatic."

"Klaus mentioned." He reached the bottom of the stairs and crossed the space to reach out a hand to her, waiting patiently until she put her own in his. "You will be safe as houses, here."

"Yeah," she said, and it came out of her throat so easily. "I know."

He patted the hand he put over his forearm, and lead her up the stairs.

"How are things?" he said.

"Oh, uhm, good, aside from the, uh, thing tonight. I get really busy -" She clenched her hands around his arm really hard at a stray THUMP and flinched at the ache it shot off into her muscles, skipping to the other side of the stairs. She leaned nearly half off of it, eyes wide and flicking around to see where it had come from. When nothing was immediately threatening, she laughed, hysterical. "Ok-ay! Uhm, sorry. Sorry."

She took his arm again and stared at her feet. The feet that had been covered in blood less than an hour ago. The feet Klaus had to help her wash in her bathroom, because she needed to put on socks and shoes.

She was sitting on a bed, and the walk up was completely deleted from her head space. The was a crystal glass with liquor in it between both her hands. She knocked back a big swallow and nodded as it burned her throat on the way down.

"Thanks," she wheezed. After a few seconds of letting it travel down her gullet and hit her empty stomach with a spread of warmth, she managed to look up at him. "How are things in your version New Orleans?"

He lifted a shoulder in an effortless shrug.

"Nothing imperative that you need to know, necessarily, aside from the fact that we run this town and everyone in it."

"Of course you do," she snorted. "I could've told you that."

"By deduction, or by word of mouth?"

"Deduction. I don't think Klaus knows how to play the sharing game." She took another sip of her drink. "But if anyone would know that, it'd be you."

He lifted his glass to toast the notion.

"He's gotten better, I suppose," he mused. "With time. Thank god for small mercies."

She sipped her drink until it was gone, and let him refill it.

"You said you were busy," he prompted. "With what?"

"I'm kind of all over the place, right now," Caroline confessed. "Not - just emotionally, you know. Generally. I'm just trying to figure some stuff out."

"You're in your early twenties," he said wisely. "That's the time to do it."

"Yeah," she laughed, swirling the amber in her glass. She waited a minute. "Where's Klaus?"

"Saddling Marcel with a few of his duties, so that he may spend time with you tomorrow."

"I have work," she said quickly. "Oh, crap, I hope he doesn't go full knight in shiny armour on me. I have things that need doing. I can't sit around here with Klaus all day."

"You're still going into work?" His eyebrows lifted.

"Why would I not go to work?" she said slowly.

There was a pause.

"If you think you can, do it, though I would recommend taking some time to come to grips with the gravity of your situation."

"I mean, I nearly fell over board walking up the stairs because i heard a thump," she winced to have admitted it, but didn't renege on the statement. "That's grippy enough for me. I have things that need doing, and I like to keep busy, and falling behind on any of my projects will render me severely stressed, so..."

"By all means," he considered her. "You know yourself better than I do."

"Well I should hope so." She twisted the glass around in her hand. "Hey, Elijah?"

"Yes, Caroline?"

"Uhm," she frowned. "Are you down with this, whole, me living here, thing? Like, it's not going to step on toes, is it?"

"No."

"It's just that - I kinda just want to live in an apartment where the tenants are known killers who can eat people if they break in and threaten to rape me. Am I a bad person?"

"Wanting to be safe does not make you a bad person."

"You can, right?" she pressed. "Kill someone if they break in and threaten to rape me?"

"In the blink of an eye," he told her quietly.

"Okay." She nodded once. "Well, I guess I'm staying then. Unless you aren't down because I plan to let you be broody and elegant and intimidating to make myself feel better. Are you down?"

"You can use me like that, if you want."

"I promise to pay you back," she said quickly. "This is like, a fledgling friendship, okay. I give great back rubs. And I make the best coffee in the known universe. And I'm good at - parties, I guess? I won't just - you know. Use you for your big bad scary sharp teeth thing. I'll be nice back."

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"If it's a friendship you're after, you needn't pay me for it in favour," he said kindly. "Bettering the moods of others is rather a quintessential part of the friendship process."

"You're so wordy," she snorted, and made his smirk tick up into a half a grin. She sipped her drink, and winced at the burn. "Does it make me a bad person that I've been living in New Orleans for weeks, and I knew Klaus was here, and I only ever called him when I was in danger?"

"Whatever game you and my brother are playing is your own," he soothed. "If he didn't want to be dealt in he wouldn't have gone to your aid."

"Okay. Well, yeah. I think I knew that. But still. Hindsight, and all that." She patted the bottom of her glass against her palm. "I am so tired."

"Are you eating vervain?" he murmured.

"Religiously," she checked the time on her phone. "Why?"

"I was going to offer to give you dreamless sleep," he said mildly. "But I can have some sleeping aids found for you, if you like?"

"That's-" she blinked at him. "Really nice, Elijah. Thanks, but I should be okay. I'm just gonna leave the lights on and lay down. I'm-... Really, I'm so tired I don't think I can dream right now."

"As you wish," he said, nodding. "I'll tell Klaus to leave you be, then."

"Thanks," she said, kicking off her shoes. She downed the rest of the drink, and put the crystal into his waiting palm. "Thank you for waiting with me."

"Not at all," he said politely. "Sleep well."

"You too," she answered. "If you do that kind of thing."

She crawled backwards on the bed and got under the covers before he'd even closed the door, then laid down and shut her eyes without a problem in the world.

* * *

 

Caroline slept.

Well, it was like a lucid rest. There may have been some actual sleeping, but it was so brief that it was mostly missed. She laid on her back with her hands crossed over her chest in that big comfy bed, and she couldn't tell if she slept or not.

She got up for work earlier than normal. Did her hair and makeup and put on some comfy shoes with jeans and a knitted sweater, before going out into the kitchen and making a pot of coffee, leaving a post-it with a lip gloss kiss on the side.

She took her new house key and didn't think about how they had gotten it so quickly. She shoved Elijah's and Marcel's phone numbers in the back pocket of her jeans before getting herself out into the big wide world.

It took her to get to the street before she turned herself around and went back for her purse.

Klaus was already awake, a cup of coffee half to his mouth, curls in disarray.

"Morning, love," he said thickly. "What did you forget?"

"Oh, you know, just the important stuff," she mumbled as she went back to get her bag and collect everything she had forgotten. On her way back out, he was sitting on the island bench, sipping the caffeine. "All good?"

"Best coffee in the known universe, so I hear," he agreed into the mug. "Have a good day."

"Thanks. You have a nice day too." She twinkled her fingers at him, and left the complex  again.

Huh.

It felt nice to have someone to talk to in the morning, although a few years ago Caroline would've rather banged her head against a wall for an hour than talk to Klaus in a friendly capacity.

On the cab ride to her work, she wrote a list of things to do for that day.

  * Find more economic way to get to work
  * Talk to Klaus (Elijah?) about rent
  * Check prices of stoarge
  * Check apartment got cleaned
  * Talk to Rich about not living in said apartment for a while - maybe talk about better security/locks
  * Send repair book to Mrs. Lively (library)
  * Call Elena
  * Cafe shift at 4 - closing
  * Look at new bed sets now have super huge adult bed
  * Buy a gun



She looked out the window as she passed into far more familiar streets. She had actually communicated with Klaus this morning - willingly. He seemed so chill, considering their rather icy backstory.

She liked this version of him, she decided as she keyed in both of her new housemates phone numbers into her phone. And although when Caroline has last tangled with the Mikealson clan, Elijah had been much more present in Elena's realm of happenings, he'd always struck her as genuinely polite.

The added bonus of them being able to protect her from any possible breaking and entering rapists was just the icing on the cake.

* * *

 

Tuesday she forgot her jumper and went back to find Klaus sitting on the island once more, scruffy and very invested in his cup.

"Morning, Caroline," he said into his freshly brewed Caroline coffee.

"Good morning, Klaus," she said as she skipped by. She went up to her borrowed room and came back out within seconds, putting her bag aside to pull on the jumper.

"Your hair looks lovely today, Caroline." His eyes were twinkling. "Like spun gold."

"Thanks," she said with a small smile. "Coffee okay?"

"The best." He toasted her with a cup. "Have you had any?"

"I practically have an IV attachment to this stuff, don't you worry," she said, crossing the room to get to the front doors. Then she threw her hands out to catch herself before she could leave, and glanced over her shoulder: "Hey, did my apartment get cleaned? My landlord didn't get back to me."

"It did. I borrowed your keys," he said, watching her as he dipped into the coffee for a long drink.

"Oh, okay. Thanks. Uhm-" She tilted her head at him, then dug out her phone, checking the message from Lena (Library). She became engrossed with the message, so it was both genuine and auto pilot when she said: "Have a nice day."

"You too."

In the taxi, she rolled her eyes at herself and sent Big Bad Wolf a text.

_Hey. I forgot to ask, who do I pay rent to? And how much is it?_

It only took him a minute to reply.

_Don't worry about rent love._

She shook her head.

 _Can't do that_ , she typed, and added a **;)**.

 _Don't you wink at me, I'm an old man. You'll give me a heart attack_ , he texted back, and added a **:p**.

She snickered to herself, and sent back at least thirteen winks.

She got home at quarter to eight, hair tied back from working in the cafe. She made her achy way to the couch in Klaus' office and just kind of fell onto it, shutting her eyes once her head hit the pillow.

"Big day?" Klaus asked her.

She grunted.

There was such a long pause that Caroline nearly dozed on the couch. His weight shifted on the other end of the L shape, the leather creaking as he adjusted.

"What do you like to watch?" he murmured.

"I don't usually have time for TV. But nothing heavy... Something funny. Mindless." She rolled onto her back, toeing off her shoes over the edge of the couch. "I usually listen to a lot of audio books."

"What's the current favourite?"

"I was listening to Stephen King," she said and tucked her hands behind her head. "But now I'm kind of over the whole mood. Are you reading anything good lately?"

"Game of Thrones," he said, and sounded so cheerful that she actually cracked a laugh, because of course he was. "Can you guess my favourite character?"

"Kahleesi," came out of her mouth, nearly before he'd finished the sentence.

"Precisely." He nodded once, pleased with her quick assessment. "Although I do hope that the Imp gets a proper shot at the throne, the Mother of Dragons is incredible. She's amassed an entire army out of nothing. That's how wars are won."

"Aren't they won on information?" she said, twisting to look at him reclined and easy on the couch. "Haven't I heard that somewhere?"

"Undoubtedly. You and Elijah could discuss," he shrugged. "I always won my wars by being clever, but being clever sometimes means having a stronger attack than your enemy's - and that has rarely anything to do with cleverness and everything to do with viciousness. There are rarely people with my kind of expertise in the art of war. It's much easier to crush an opponent than outweigh him in a matter or wit."

"Uh huh," she said, chin propped on her hand. "You're very tough, and very clever."

"I know," he said, and winked. "Undoubtedly you're a fan of Dany too?"

"Oh, hell yeah. I've literally never met a person who didn't love her," she said with a quick smile. "I even think the Imp should take the throne, but I really want Sansa to come through. What book are you up to? Do you watch the show?"

"I'm not up to date as yet. I wanted to read it first before I watched it."

"Ah. Well. I've watched what they have out - I don't want to spoil anything."

"I quite liked Sansa," he admitted, turning his eyes to the television. "I'd hate to think anything bad happened to her."

"Before I spoil anything," she teased, and snuggled into her pillow. "What are we watching now?"

"Futurama?"

"Perfect."

He nodded simply, and pressed play.

With half a mind on the TV, Caroline organised her next day.

  * Get up - at LEAST 5:30!
  * Be ready by 5:45 NO LATER SERIOUSLY
  * Go to cafe, open: 6 - 11 - talk to Collin re: Phillip being weird and touchy
  * CALL ELENA
  * Text Bonnie
  * 12 start @ library
  * Call Mrs. Lively, check package was received
  * Finish resorting non-fiction P - R
  * EMAIL MATTY
  * Call Rich again about abandoning apartment
  * Get food????
  * Get a gun



Her phone was face down on her boobs when Caroline roused to the lights on and Klaus saying her name.

"Did you sleep well last night?" he asked her.

"Yup." She rubbed her face, and took half her make up with her. "Ugh. Yup. Just big days. You know how it is."

"Go have a shower and get into bed," he suggested gently.

"Will do." She aimed a lazy smile at him as she stood. "Goodnight, Klaus."

"Night, Caroline."

* * *

 

Wednesday she got all the way to the end of the street before she realized that she had left her headphones on her bedside table.

Klaus was sitting on the bench with her coffee in his mouth, and smiled faintly as she walked back in with her fists swinging by her sides.

"One day, Klaus," she said flatly. "I'll forget my freakin' head."

"Not a chance I'd let you leave the house without it, love," he chuckled. "You know how much I prefer your head as is."

She giggled down the hall and into her room, collecting the tangle - that had been unwound only the night before, like seriously, how did this witchcraft happen? - and shoving it into her bag, jogging back to the front door.

"How was your sleep?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I-" she looked at him then, saw his scruff was gone. Her legs stopped their determined stride, and she smiled so suddenly it felt like a crack in her armour. "Hey! You shaved."

He rubbed his jaw with a slow hand, the corner of his mouth picking up.

"I've been known to," he said, ducking his eyes to the coffee. It made a single perfect curl flop out of the unruly nest that was the rest of his head, and hit his brow. Caroline couldn't help but stare as he raked it back with his fingers, combing it back into place.

"You look nice." she said, still smiling. "Really. You look... I think the word I want is handsome."

"I'm not certain you're entirely awake," he teased, and flicked eyes back up at her. "Or if you are, I'm not. Have a good day, Caroline."

"You too," she pulled open the door and jogged out.

As it turned out, Collin had gotten two other complaints about Phillip doing his weird stare and gropey thing and agreed that something needed to be done. Phillip left the store scream-crying about not being able to feed his kid, and Caroline felt like a monster.

Mrs. Lively didn't receive the package and was absolutely fuming about it. Caroline became aware of this after she was told she was a ' _useless, good for nothing, uneducated tart with no sense in her head'_ for the third time in a ten minute abuse session.

Rich still didn't answer the phone after four different calls, so she couldn't organise to get her shit out of the apartment and into storage, or discuss how four random men even managed to get into what was supposed to be a secure facility, any way. 

Elena was easily coerced into an over the phone study break by Caroline mentioning the Phillip debacle and lent an ear for all of fifteen minutes before Caroline had to leave to get back on the grind.

"Oh, tell Bonnie I've been meaning to text her!" she said desperately. "I'm on it, really, I'm just busy-"

"Busy," Elena intoned with good humour. "We know. She knows. It's okay to drift a little, Care."

"Not for me it isn't," she said quickly. "Give my love to the Salvatore boys! Or at least one of them. Give twice the love to only Stefan."

"Okay," Elena said, laughing. "Love you. Bye."

Caroline was feeling pretty solidly she'd done the right thing not to mention the whole... breaking in, incident. Having to explain that somehow she'd called Klaus for a save and had ended up living with him. And Elijah. You know, those people we were threatened by and killed a few times?

Home time saw her genuinely struggling to get up the stairs. She was exhausted, bone tired, her hand even unwilling to squeeze the balustrade so that she could get up, one foot at a time.

"Hey Klaus," she said, and kicked off her shoes by the door. She rubbed her neck and plopped on the couch, burying into a pillow with a big breath in. Her spine cracked at the release of pressure, and she saw him twitch. Maybe it wasn't related, though. Maybe he was just... twitchy.

"Big day again, Caroline?" he said fairly. "You seem to have a lot of those."

"Eh," she curled into a ball and stared at the Netflix open on the TV. "How was your day?"

"I've decided to ease my reins on the city, so my workload is only as big as I make it." He shrugged. "What are you in the mood for?"

She blinked, lifted her head.

"Huh?"

"Well, I want to watch a movie," he indicated to the screen. "But I don't know what. Suggest something."

"Oh." She had not thought that was what he meant, at all. For some reason her brain went straight to cuddles and back rubs. She cleared her throat to shake loose the thoughts from her head. "Well... I don't know. I'm out of the movie loop. We could watch Taken? It has a classic moment that is pretty much new Hollywood history."

"Have you already seen it?"

"I saw bits," she chewed her lip, thinking. "It might be good?"

"I'm convinced," he drawled, and considered the movie synopsis. "His child gets taken and he goes on a revenge trip?"

"Mm-hm. Teenager. Sex-trade, I think." She had been busy during the last time the movie was on, typing up a resume. Or maybe fixing one of the books? Wait, were there two Taken movies now? "It's action-y. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's good..."

"Well," he shifted, relaxing into the couch. "If you're pretty sure..."

* * *

 

Thursday she woke late, still on the couch - a blanket she didn't remember draped over her. Her phone was dead. So the thing she forgot was to make the coffee, as she bolted out of the apartment.

She barreled back in after making it all the way down the street to find Klaus just about to reach the coffee pot, skidded around him, and set a large cup of take out coffee in front of him with a kiss mark on the side.

"Sorry!" she laughed breathlessly at his arched brow. "Not best coffee in the known universe, but still good!"

He chuckled.

"You have lipstick on you chin from kissing my coffee," he drawled. There was a fine stubble back on his jaw, dusted on his cheeks. He looked bed warm and snoozy, with his loose fitted sleep pants and his dashing unruly curls and his stupid half lidded wolf eyes.

Caroline fought off a yawn at the thought of cuddling up in bed with him, then jolted at the thought of _cuddling up in bed with him_! Where the hell did that come from?! Stop that. Stop that now! Bad Caroline!

"Can't give you coffee without a kiss!" she said, pitchy.

"Come here," he said, and without warning cupped her face, smoothing his thumb over her chin. She felt the smear of gloss that had migrated from her hasty kiss to the cup - and then saw him consider their proximity. "There. Better."

"Yeah, thanks," she said, and jogged back out of the kitchen. "Have a great day bye!"

"Where's the fire, love?" he hollered back, but the door shut between them and that was the end of it.

Caroline worked first at the library, and put off phoning Mrs. Lively until the absolute last minute. Whatever gods she had prayed to had listened, though, and she wasn't answering. Caroline left a very professional message and breathed a sigh of relief.

Apparently she'd missed out on all the fun at the cafe. Phillip had returned with a vengence to get his job back, abusing the staff and the customers and yelling about how he couldn't feed his kid. Poor, sweet Collin had to be the guy to call the cops and have him carted off, swearing about how there was no proof he'd done anything wrong, that all the women there were out to get him. Erin was particularly upset, though Caroline didn't find out why.

After the shift that ended at 5, she spoiled herself with a taxi. The ride home was so cushy that Caroline fell entirely asleep. She only woke because the door was opened for her, and Elijah was on the other side, smiling faintly as she jerked up her heavy head.

"Hello there," he said.

"I'm awake." She rolled her head on her shoulders and heard several little pops, and looked up to the driver with a small smile. "I was resting my eyes!"

That, at least, got a pity laugh out of the cabbie.

Elijah stood as Caroline hefted the box over her lap and handed it to him.

"Are you alright, Caroline?" he asked.

"You're not even wearing shoes," she told his bare feet, tilting her head. Upon further inspection, he appeared to be in - Le gasp - track pants??? And a sleeveless muscle shirt???? Hair was not on fleek?????? "Why are you not wearing shoes? Where's your suit? Oh my god, are you _ill_? Who are you, and what did you do to Elijah?"

"I was training," he said, arching a brow. "I can fight in a suit, but there'd be no point in ruining one every time I partake in practice. You're not sleeping, are you?"

"I wasn't sleeping," she defended. "And don't change the subject. What martial art do you do?"

"All of them. Tonight wasn't so much an art as it was boxing," he specified. "And you can't talk a circle around me, Miss Forbes. You're not sleeping, in the hours that you pretend you're sleeping at home, in your bed."

She shrugged.

He didn't say anything about that in return, and that made her feel weird, like she'd done something wrong.

Right up until he took her hand, putting the box on his hip, she felt shy and a little unsure.

"Come," he said gently, and she sort of spilled out of the cab and used his forearm to keep upright. "What's in the box?"

"Work," she said easily. "I get to fix the donated books, or some of the ones that come back a little worse for wear."

"And you're doing them at home?" he wondered. "Does your superior know?"

"Well, she knows I like to be busy," she said mildly. Every step took a lot of concentrating. She was grateful for the crook of Elijah's arm, because she was actively leaning on it to stay vertical.

"You're overworked," he accused gently. "And under rested. You're not mending these tonight."

"I'm fine," she said, but when he put aside the box and lead her to the couch in Klaus' office, she didn't even try to protest. The books, in truth, could wait. She just needed to keep occupied, and as it turned out, Elijah was an occupying presence. The gym gear was still weird, though. "Where's Klaus?"

"Tending to some indiscretion in the Cauldron. He shouldn't be long." He picked up the remote and sat beside her, his posture regal. "Shall I pick?"

"Go for it."

He put on Friends, and earned a little giggle from her.

"What?" he mused.

"Out of all the movies and shows I thought you would pick," she said, still sniggering. "Friends was not one of them."

"Perhaps I like seeing old friends," he said, blinking innocently at her as she slouched on the pillow next to his leg.

"When you say it like that," she murmured, and hugged the pillow. "Sounds dreamy. What's your opinion on Ross and Rachel?"

"They deserved each other," he said simply. "But only because they're equally terrible for other people."

Caroline laughed.

"You and Elena would brawl something horrible," she teased. "She loves Ross and Rachel. I think he's a whiny nerd baby and she's a stuck up bitch. I liked when she and Joey were a thing, but that's because Joey is my Friend of choice. Who's yours?"

"Hmm," he said, and thought it over. "Monica. I like her particulars."

She took a pause from their conversation to clap out to the sound of the theme song - 'so no one told you life was, gonna be this wayyy' CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP - which made Elijah chuckle at her.

Since she could nearly name the episodes from two lines of dialogue alone, she quoted it nearly line for line with all the character's flourishes, until he was watching her more than the show.

That was how she fell asleep.

* * *

 

Friday she woke up in her bed, but had no recollection of getting there. The en suite light was on, for which she was grateful, because her heart was beating really hard and she was in such a state of fear she couldn't move to reach out and turn on the lamp.

It was barely three am, and she was truly, horrifyingly tired. She rested until a more reasonable hour, then got herself ready for work and went down into the kitchen.

Halfway through the making of toast and bacon and eggs, she realized that she wasn't making it for herself. She only noticed it because Klaus came out with a small smile, and it made her break into a grin.

His five o'clock shadow verging into ten pm territory, and his shirt wasn't sitting right on his shoulders.

"Good morning, Caroline," he said quietly.

"Good morning." She ducked her head to the food in the pan and carefully flipped the eggs. "Your shirt isn't sitting right."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Your shirt. Just-" she told the pan, then sighed, and turned to him, fixing the seam where it was supposed to sit on his shoulder. It was warm from where he'd been sleeping, and although there was heat in the frying pan - the heat under her fingertips burned her. "Now I can look at you."

"Like it's such a chore otherwise," he mused.

"Ordinarily," she teased.

"Did you have five minutes to rub together this morning?" he guessed.

"This is a thank-you-for-being-you breakfast," she told him easily, and turned over the strips of bacon. "You made this week so much easier than it was going to be. So. Thanks."

He didn't say anything for a long time.

"You didn't have to thank me, Caroline," he said softly. "This-... I was just...You know that I-... About you..."

She arched a brow over her shoulder at him.

"The mighty Niklaus Mikealson," she said innocently. "Without his famous silver tongue."

He wrinkled his nose.

"Never you mind my silver tongue," he said with an arrogant tilt to his mouth. "I'm never without it for long."

"Well. If you're going to be gross, I'm going to leave. But before I do-" The toast popped, just as the eggs were finishing. She scooped them out of the toaster, buttered them, and levered the eggs onto the bacon, and the neat stack onto the toast. "To put it plain and simply, you did not have to move me in, you did not have to look after me like you did, and you did not have to make a horrible thing turn into a nice thing, but you did. So eat the breakfast, enjoy the coffee, and say thank you."

She took his mug and pressed a careful lipstick kiss to the side before handing it to him.

"'Thank you Caroline'," she teased at his unblinking expression.

"I made it nice?" he murmured, taking the cup in a hand that was covered in sleeve. "Did I?"

"You made me feel safe," she confirmed with a shrug, and passed him his plate. "So did Elijah, but it was your idea and he's not here, so you get breakfast Now. Before we have any more weirdly charged emotional moments, I'm gonna go."

"Yeah..." he breathed. "Right."

"I might be late tonight, but I'll text you when I know, okay?" She turned off the fire, put a fork and knife on the plate, and turned to put it on the corner of the island he usually sat on. "Have a great day, Klaus."

"I don't think I can possibly have a bad one," he said mildly, the corners of his mouth curled in a smile. "Have a good day, Caroline."

Despite his well wishing, her day was not good. Not even close.

But for a number of reasons.

1) Mrs. Lively showed up at the library and ripped Caroline's every aspect apart until Caroline caught on to something and asked her to confirm the address that she had been provided with. It was not her current address, but her last address. And somehow Caroline was supposed to know that the woman had moved. And then she got stuck with chasing down the book that she had shipped out to some rando.

2) That made her late to calling Bonnie and having a chat - Bonnie was mid witch hunt with some vampire named Enzo, and some weird feelings were happening. Caroline made the worst descision and sat down to have a great chat with one of her best friends, listening intently to her concerns. Which of course made her forget the time.

3) And then a car accident further kept her from getting to the cafe. Yes, it was docked from her pay, regardless of who was at fault - it was out of Collin's hands. It was the regional manager who had just so happened to stop by that day who decided to make her his example.

4) Erin started crying and couldn't stop, so Caroline closed the cafe by herself, handling the swell of after work customers solo.

So she got home late.

Home, rang in her ears, but it didn't hurt as much as she thought it might. 

She sort of got up to Klaus' office and fell over the arm of the couch, not even realizing she crashed into Elijah's thigh until her face planted directly into it. She groaned, her eyes already shut, then wriggled back into her own space and hugged a pillow.

"You're still not sleeping," he accused.

"I slept last night," she said defensively. "I just had a big day. And a bad day. A big... bad..." A yawn made her trail off.

"The fifth big day in a row," Klaus muttered. "What happened to make it bad?"

She groaned again, managed to bat open her lashes.

"Just boring work drama," she muttered. "Nothing two thousand year old vampires would be interested in. Hey, do you know a vampire by the name of Enzo St John? Is he good people?"

"If we've met, I can't recall him," Klaus said slowly. "Why? Was he the cause of your bad day?"

"No, no, not at all," she said quickly. "No. He's got a thing for Bonnie. I was just checking if you knew him in some ancient violent capacity."

"Even if we had," Elijah said mildly. "People change. The man we might've known is likely not the man he is now. No use fretting. Bonnie is a powerful witch with good common sense."

"Would you like a drink, love?" Klaus wondered.

"Yeah, if you could just, put it in my mouth hole and hold it there so I can suck on it," she suggested, kicking off her shoes.

"In front of my brother?" He grinned. "How crass."

"Well," she wiggled her brows at him as she flopped around on the couch into a more comfortable position, legs hooked over the arm. "If he wants to watch, that's his business."

"Good god," Elijah muttered, rubbing his head. "They get along."

"Oh ho, what's so bad about that?" she said, accepting a drink from Klaus, propping up on her elbow to take a hearty sip.

"Yes, brother," Klaus said, stepping over the back of the couch to lift her legs and sit beneath them, jostling her as she tried to get the booze into her mouth and not down the front of her shirt. "Would you prefer that she was scared of me and didn't talk?"

"Yeah," Caroline just lifted a little to wink at Klaus, who sent her a noisy air smooch back. "Let's play 'this is a hostile and uncomfortable situation for every one'! It's Elijah's favourite game!"

Klaus barked a laugh.

"I never thought I'd see the day," Elijah sighed, put upon. "Wherein I was attacked so ruthlessly in my own home."

"Honestly you should be used to it by now," Caroline pointed out.

"Words out of my mouth," Klaus concurred. "It's almost as if you stole them with the kisses you give me in the morning."

Elijah rolled his eyes, which caused Caroline to laugh. The booze, on her empty belly, went straight to her head.

She was dead asleep before they even picked a movie, half her bourbon still in the glass.

* * *

 

Saturday was just like any other workday. She had to go and shower, firstly, and it was hair washing day, which meant she had to dry it, too. She made the coffee and left two lipstick kisses on post-its on the jug, before pulling on a trim blue hoodie and nearly running out the door.

Saturday wasn't too bad in terms of business. The library was her main problem with a 7-1 shift. She sorted out the Mrs. Lively thing and got the people to return the book that wasn't meant for them. She thanked them profusely and told them to stop by at her cafe later for free drinks.

There was one guy who would not stop asking her stupid questions. At first, she thought he might just be dumb. But then he started asking her things about herself, and the play became evident. And no matter how many times to refused him, he wasn't getting the hint.

Until-

" _Get. Out._ " Came a growl from behind her. Caroline spun with a jump, but it was only Elijah. Given, it was Elijah leaning on a bookshelf, looking dead eyed and dangerous in a black suit and tie. "Don't make me say it again."

The guy sort of stuttered out something and exited the library with sweat on his forehead.

Caroline rolled her eyes at him.

"Very tough," she said with a smile.

Sharp eyes went to the fine tremble in her hands.

"Are you alright, Caroline?"

"Yeah! Yeah. Sure. What's wrong? Are you here for books?" she said, and her eyes drifted past his face, to over his shoulder. Her heart was beating kinda fast. Even though nothing had really happened, her body was still shaky.  "I can help with books..." But her voice was faint even to her own ears.

"Caroline," he said, and pushed off the bookcase, a hand out to her.

"I'm fine!" she blurted. "But I might - I might just need to sit down, for a second."

Next thing she knew, she was on the floor, Elijah hovering over her, hand on her pulse.

"Caroline," he said, carefully angling her head to look at him. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"

"I have to go to work," she muttered, eyes not yet fully open. "No time for napping."

"I don't think napping is quite correct," he said quietly. "You fainted."

She snorted.

"Forbes women," she said firmly. "Do not _faint_."

"You looked me in the eye and said: 'I think I'm fainting'," he pointed out roughly. He tilted his head at her like a curious bird. "Having been present for the last thousand years, do you know how many women I've seen faint?"

She mumbled something back at him, but even she couldn't make out the noise. She tried to sit but it was quick, and their noses bumped hard.

Which is, of course, the compromising position that they were found in. Nose to nose, him hovering over her with his hand bracing the back of her neck, her semi-sitting on the floor with her hands on his shoulders.

"Uhhh..." Cheryl, her library boss, blinked at them from behind her thick spectacles.

"Excuse me," Elijah said, the image of calm. "Caroline fainted. Can you get a glass of water, please?"

"Oh Caroline," Cheryl said, and clutched her necklace. "Of course. Get her to the rec room, there's a sofa in there."

"Thank you very much." Elijah said, easing his warm hand behind Caroline's head.

"Don't flirt with Cheryl," Caroline warned him, groaning as she sat. Her head gave a terrific spin. "I'm okay, I can walk."

He ignored her request and rolled easily onto his haunches to dead lift her in his arms as he stood.

"Oh, very gentleman," she said with a wry grin. She poked his bicep. "Much hero. 10/10 would faint again."

"Not the first time I've had someone faint on me," he teased. "Definitely the first time I haven't been touching them."

"Eli- _jah_!" She laughed, which made her head hurt, and screwed up her nose at him like he was at fault.

"My apologies," he said with good humour, mostly just pleased she was allowing him to carry her on to the rec room.

It was not a large room, and it was not very used. The rest of the library crew were quite fond of their working hours, so it was only utilized by Cheryl when she needed to have a word with someone privately. There was a soft yellow sofa pushed up on one wall and a table and chairs at another. A small bunch of wilting roses was in the middle of the table, and got changed out every other Wednesday.

Elijah eased her into the sofa and accepted the water from her boss, thanking her kindly with a twinkle in his eye. He sent her off with a good natured smile and a blush on her cheeks, absolutely fanning herself at his charm.

"Stop flirting with my boss," she said flatly. "She's _married_."

"Alright." He turned his sharp focus down on her again, and Caroline sipped her water, trying not to squirm. Why he made her feel shifty and like she'd been caught doing something wrong, she'd never know. "Which would you like to discuss first?"

"What?" she blinked. "Cheryl being married?"

"No," he said simply, and hiked up his trouser legs before sinking into a crouch, unblinking as he gazed up at her. "The part where you are not sleeping, or the part where you're not eating?"

"I eat," she retorted.

"I think that's quite enough of lying to me, today, Caroline." He thinned his lips. "Don't you agree?"

"I'm fine," she groaned, holding her head as she sat up straighter. "Okay. I'm tired. Why do you even care?"

He frowned. It was basically terrifying.

"Despite having vampiric strength," he said softly. "I am not unfamiliar with what healthy weight in my arms should feel like."

"I work out," she said flatly. "And I'm busy, and I'm fine!"

"If you say so," he said, voice darkening. "I'll just let Niklaus know what I suspect and let him have at it."

"Oh, okay, ease up with the pulling out of the big guns." She held her skull. "Jeeze, can't give a girl a break?"

"This is my version of giving you a break," he pointed out. "It only escalates from here. You're not eating and I have concerns."

"Fine," she groaned, and rubbed her spinny head. "You're right! I don't eat as much as I used to. But it's not on purpose! I'm just busy. Are you happy now?"

"No," he told her.

"I'm _fine_ ," she stressed. "I'm just - not as snacky as I was in high school."

"When was the last time you had a full meal?"

"Literally for lunch today," she lied through her teeth, forcing her tone light. "So you can take off your dad hat, now, because I'm fine. Thank you for coming to my rescue, though. I would've handled it, but I feel better that you were here. Have you been lurking, or did you actually need something from the library?"

He would not be disallusioned.

"You can be as sweet and deflective as you want," he informed her. "I'm a little too old, and significantly less enamoured with you, to be fooled by it. You'll call work ahead and let them know you can't come in today."

"What!" she said, her volume a touch too loud. "No! No way, I was just a little fainty, it wasn't even a real emergency! Maybe _I'll_ call Klaus, see how you like it when he does his thing against you!"

"By all means, call him," he drawled, and let her dig out her phone, looking all the while like he was entirely unbothered. She scowled at him over the screen between them, then felt her shoulders relaxing as his pupils wobbled and dragged her in. "Call the cafe. Tell them you are unwell, and will be taking the week to yourself."

Mindlessly, she did so, blinking at him hugely. There was surprise on the other end of the line, but no resistance. The world didn't crumble because Caroline Forbes didn't show up for work.

"Is that all you had planned for today?" he said mildly.

"Yes," she said.

"And when are you next due to work at the library?"

"In two days."

"Between now and then, we shall see how you feel," he said easily. "Did you eat today?"

"No."

"Hm." He tilted his head at her. "Credit where it's due, Caroline. It's been a while since someone lied to me so convincingly."

"Thanks?" she frowned. "You're compelling me." 

"Yes," he agreed, and helped her into standing. "You haven't eaten vervain since you arrived at the compound, because you haven't been eating. That means I can send you to rest properly, eat something decent, and sleep the night through without nightmares you pretend you aren't having. I heard every time you woke."

"I didn't know you'd hear me through the walls," she muttered. "I didn't want you to know. Now I'm embarrassed."

"I know," he sighed, and allowed her out of the compulsion to tuck her protectively under his arm. "Although I'm not sure why."

Caroline didn't say anything. He smelt nice, and she just kind of, let him do all the walking and talking while her head swam and she was steered into a car. It was nice to just let someone else take the reins, for a hot minute. To let herself go through the motions without having such a tight clamp on everything, and feel totally and completely safe.

She didn't want to prove his point, but she dozed in the car, and when he made her an easy toasted sandwich and she couldn't get it in her face hole quick enough. He'd already made her another before she even finished the first, and was slicing fruit into manageable paces by the time she was done with that.

"How long," he asked the apple in his hands. "Have you been without proper food?"

"Oh, uhm," she kept her eyes down, just in case he wanted to compel an answer out of her. "The day I got broken into."

"Nearly a week," he recalled. "Six whole days."

"Uhm..." she fiddled idly with her napkin. She felt his weighty gaze on her face, but couldn't look at him. "Yeah, I guess."

"Could you imagine," he asked the chopping board quietly, slicing the apple into equal segments. "If I told the younger version of yourself that you stopped eating in an effort to assume control over your emotions? What would she say, I wonder?"

He slid the plate to her, and began to peel an orange. His face was calm, but his tone was firm. If Elijah had ever had children, Caroline realised, he would've been the one who wasn't angry, but disappointed. 

"Probably nothing," Caroline muttered, and picked up an apple slice to chew on.

"I don't think younger Caroline knows how to play that game," he said with a small smile, flicking his eyes up at her. He finished peeling the orange, then put it on her near empty plate, and tipped the apple core and the peel into the bin.

"Har, har," she said, leaning her elbows onto the bench. "You're very clever. But seriously, it's just life, Elijah. Some times I get busy. Some times my house gets broken into and they eat my pasta and then I feel a little bit sick when I look at food. So what? I don't like - need to talk about it. I love food. I love eating. I'm just..."

She took in a deep breath. He remained not fooled. It felt like a loss, somehow, and she thought she saw the recognition in his regimented face, the shift of him realising that she was done with her facade. 

"You understand that it cannot continue," he said, very softly. "You're here, and you are safe, and to be well you must eat. It isn't an option."

"I don't want to tell Klaus," she said, voice small.

"Why not?"

"He'll think I'm being stupid, or-" she found herself unable to stop glancing at him. He was watching her, a tower of patience, but still - the threat of the compulsion made her flinch and look down again. "I don't want him to know. I'll eat more, okay? Just... don't mention it to Klaus."

"He would never think any less of you, Caroline," Elijah said. "You could kill a thousand men and he wouldn't bat an eye."

"No, he'd probably want to join in," she said, and heard him chuckle. She chewed her lip. "I don't think I want anyone else to know. You-... Just you is enough."

"What about your friends? Bonnie, or Elena?" he murmured. "Do they know?"

"I didn't tell them, about the break in," she admitted. "I've been keeping my distance maybe a little bit on purpose. They know... my triggers. When I get stressed, I- some times... some times I compromise on the things I can control."

"This isn't new behavior?"

"No, but also it's - you know. I have been busy, and sometimes it's like a little bump off the wagon," she reasoned. "I've been skipping meals since high school, but when college rolled around it got... it got bad. Even I know it got bad. I tried to get a handle on things, and that's all it was - I don't know. It makes sense to me."

"Why did you drop out of college?" he wondered. "I thought studying became you."

"It did, right up until I became it," she muttered. She frowned, and selected her words very carefully to avoid having a full tilt emotional breakdown on one of the most staunchly controlled people she knew. He would understand - he _had_ to understand. Klaus already knew, because he'd sent her flowers, but still. Saying something out loud made it so real. "My mother died. And everything just - spiraled. I don't even - one day it was fine, and I was fine, and everything was great; Elena and I were roomies and we were living our lives and we were finally, _finally_ out of Mystic Falls. And then the next day - poof! All gone. It was so fast. I didn't even - I couldn't even make myself eat for like, two weeks. Elena was force feeding me shakes at the end." Caroline shrugged, like the hardest moments of her life were some far away nightmare that happened to a completely different girl.

Elijah didn't press her, but he did reach out, and lay his hand on her shoulder.

"I won't tell Niklaus," he said finally.

"Thanks," she said, and shyly looked at him from under her lashes. "Thanks for lunch."

"Of course." He smiled, small and warm at her.

"So! Uh," she patted the hand on her shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze, a silent 'thank-you'. He let her go. "You came to my library today and I still don't know why."

He chuckled.

"I was looking for you," he said evenly. "I have books that need mending, and I wanted to see what work you've done previously. They're - delicate."

"Oh sure!" She got out of her chair and felt the food shift in her gut, but not unpleasantly so. "I have some in my room. Lemme grab them and I'll be right down!"

* * *

 

In the early morning of Sunday, she wasn't alone; Klaus was her pillow, his even breaths deep and calm in the darkness. The pink pony nightlight cast cloud shaped shadows on the roof, allowed her to see his features - and the different furniture. She was in her childhood bedroom, and it was a week since her apartment was broken into.

If someone had've mentioned a week ago the situation she would find herself in; cuddled up to Klaus Mikealson at 3 am in her bedroom, with her hand clutching the side of his shirt and face pressed against his shoulder - she would've thought, at the very least, he was being sneaky and gross.

There was nothing sneaky or gross about him then. She wiggled her toes more insistently against his calf and tightened her hand in his shirt.

"Klaus?"

His chest swelled with a deep inhale, and she counted the three bu-bumps of his heart in there while he held it. She shut her eyes and adjusted  her temple to fit more organically against the curve of his shoulder, rubbing the arch of her foot up his shin.

"Yes, love?" His free hand, which had been resting against his belly, went up to touch the back of her knuckles.

"This isn't real," she accused.

"No," he said softly. "I am a figment of your imagination."

She swallowed, and squeezed him with her leg.

"Does Elijah know?"

"He might suspect," he drawled snoozily. "You remember he compelled you to dream of things that made you feel safe and warm?"

"Yeah, but..."

"But?" he prompted. When she didn't speak, he kissed her brow. "You hoped for your mother."

"I miss her," she confessed in a breath. "I miss her all the time. Every day. I thought maybe that's what he was getting at."

He hummed in thought, stroking her arm.

"I don't think that's outside the realm of reasonable," he told her. "It's only been a handful of months, love. You must allow your broken heart to heal."

"Like," she said, pushing up onto her elbow. "That's really sound advice, for someone who's literally myself wearing a Klaus mask."

"Perhaps you already know your truth," he said simply. "And you need me to tell you, because I've been around long enough to know when strength and stubbornness are not the same thing."

"I'm not stubborn." She scowled, and dropped down against him again, winding her arm tightly around his chest, feeling his steady heart beat under her palm. "I'm resilient."

"You can fool him," whispered the Klaus in her dreams. "But you can't fool me."

She sighed.

"I know."

They lay like that for a time, until real sleep pulled her back under, in an abyss that had no name or face.

When she woke in New Orleans, the sun was up, and her head felt heavy and cloggy, but she still got up, because her body was used to movement and she wasn't ready to betray it. She dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and ran a brush through her hair before she trotted down the stairs.

She was surprised to smell things already happening in there, and even more surprised to see Elijah with his sleeves rolled up, and wearing an apron.

"Good morning, Caroline," he said, checking over his shoulder when she stopped in the doorway. "Breakfast is nearly done."

"Oh..." She hadn't eaten breakfast since high school, but honestly, turning him down seemed like a bad idea. The thought of Elijah going full dad mode on her actually made her a little hivey, so she took a seat at the bar and let him put food in front of her. "Thanks. Are you eating with me?"

"Yes," he said calmly, and dished up for himself. "And if Niklaus will stop sulking for half an hour, he's more than welcome to join."

"Why is he sulking?" she said, slicing into her eggs. 

"Honestly it could be any number of reasons. Seasonal depression, the paint won't mix quite the same way, old enemies with inherited vendettas," Elijah said mildly, unlocking an iPad with his thumb and beginning to read it. "My guess is it's some devious plot concerning the werewolves that went south yesterday."

"If it so concern you what I did with my time yesterday," Klaus said shortly, storming into the kitchen. "I was out minding my business, brother. Do try it sometime. Where is the coffee?"

Caroline went to stand because, _hey, yeah, where's the coffee_?

"This is a caffeine free household as of this morning," Elijah slid his tablet toward the hybrid, who sneered at it like it had actively insulted his mother. "That is the research that supports the damage caffeine can do to a human. It can act as an appetite suppressant, stomach irritant, and is a known cause of nervousness and insomnia."

"I didn't know all of that," Caroline mentioned, feeling a little bit sheepish.

"Well," Elijah said, his knuckle edging her orange juice closer to her. "Now you do."

Klaus read it for a half a minute, then slid it back and rubbed his eyes.

"You okay?" Caroline said around a mouthful of avocado and egg. "It's just coffee, Klaus."

He sighed.

"It's not just the coffee, love. A number of things plague me." He held his head in his hands, and propped his elbows on the counter. "The werewolves are not cooperating. There's some nay sayer that goes and undoes all of my work, regardless of how many times I throttle the Alpha to do as I bid. The second my back is turned, their coats flip."

"Oh wow," Caroline said, raising her brows. "It's almost like if you don't treat people nicely they don't want to stay on your side."

Klaus glowered at her, somewhat diminished from behind his hands.

"What would you suggest I do?" he demanded, and unearthed to stand to his full height. "Send a fruit basket and sing a merry little song? Kiss the filthy swamp feet of every member?"

"Like, it's not a hard problem to solve, Klaus." She shrugged, put more egg into her mouth. "But if you're gonna do your great drama llama thing, go right ahead."

"I love breakfast and a show," Elijah muttered, and earned her giggle.

"Oh, the two of you are very cozy this morning. Do tell, sweet Caroline," he drawled. "What you would have me do?"

"It's not a case of getting everyone under your thumb," she said, the ' _duh_ ' heavily implied. "If you make good with the Alpha instead of all your old world throttling bullshit, you have the pack under your thumb by extension. I didn't even have to read Art of War to understand that." She put more food in her mouth, then nudged Elijah.

"I have read Art of War, though."

"Your thoughts?" he said evenly.

"Dense and boring. I prefer my bodice rippers and Stephan Kings. You?"

"I enjoy revisiting The Art of War," Elijah considered her. "And Stephan King is a master of his craft."

Caroline didn't even realise that Klaus was staring until Elijah flicked his eyes to him first. 

"Oh, is this about the coffee now?" she teased. "You said you had more than one problem that had you all bummed out. Is there any other pressing issue I can solve while I'm here?"

"See how much more alert you are when you're rested," Elijah muttered. "And have had a good breakfast?"

"Sure do, dad." She rolled her eyes so hard they were in actual danger of getting stuck. 

"It's only that..." Klaus said slowly, and then plastered a grin on his face that hid his true concern, but not before Caroline had clocked it for what it was. "You only ever kiss me in the morning with my coffee."

Caroline blinked at him.

"Well come over here," she said softly. "And I'll kiss you now."

Elijah sighed, collected his tablet and headphones, and plugged them in before exiting the room.

Klaus didn't move an inch.

"You don't mean that," he said.

"Don't tell me what I don't mean," she retorted. "Come over here and kiss me."

He swallowed.

"It wasn't only the coffee, or the wolves, that has my mood so black," he admitted. "I stopped by your room, just this morning. I know - we, Elijah and I - both knew you'd been sleeping horribly, in the nights you pretended to sleep. I had heard nothing from you, and I was worried you were ill."

She blinked at him. Honestly? Not the reaction she was expecting, upon telling him to kiss her.

"And?" she prompted.

"You said his name," he dared breathe. His eyes were full and wide, wounded. "You said my brother's name as you slept. And you slept so deeply; so soundly, without any restlessness. It was he who soothed your mind. And I, the monster, still lurking outside of your door. You said - you told me yourself, Elijah had helped you feel safe in this household, and I was blinded by my adoration for you-"

Caroline would have to thank Elijah later, for giving her the healthy breakfast she needed to shoot up off her chair and climb across the bench, sliding knees first into his chest and catching his scruffy face in both hands. She sucked his pouting lower lip into her mouth and gave it a tug, the noise immediately pulled from her throat pleased.

He touched her wrists, and exhaled through his nose.

Reverently, adoringly, he stroked the tendons under her skin and up to her knuckles, tracing the tight grip she had on his face. She changed the angle of her kiss so their noses weren't so smushed, and felt his pout stretch into a toothy smile.

"He compelled me to sleep, and dream of things that made me feel safe and warm," she told him, pressing kisses to his rough cheeks, his chin - turning his head this way or that, catching the rise of his cheekbone with a particularly loud smack. "And I was asking the dream version of you if he knew that it would mean _you_."

"Safe?" he repeated, eyes fluttering shut as her kisses trailed around to his ear. "Warm?"

"We were in my childhood bedroom," she muttered. "There was a unicorn night light. Glow in the dark stickers. Beanie Kids. We were on a single bed so that was interesting, but we were pretty close."

He barked a laugh and cupped her face, thumbs swiping under her eyes, his lids flying half mast over his pretty blue eyes. 

"Let me take you to a real bed," he said gently, the heat in his gaze not entirely lustful. "And you can show me how close."

She broke into a wide grin, untucked her legs to wind them around his waist, and kissed him again.

 

* * *

 

 

She sent a text to Elijah's phone a few hours later:

You can take your headphones out now! x

 

He replied in seconds:

I anticipated the length of your tryst. I'm at a bar. Feel free to continue as you please. 

 

Klaus texted him off his own phone:

Will do **;)**


End file.
